It seems like Penn State is getting closer to finding its next head coach of the basketball program. After reportedly meeting with current VCU coach Mike Rhoades on Sunday, it appears they have officially offered him the job.
There are reports that Penn State has offered Rhoades a contract of over $3 million per year which is more than double his current salary.
Rhoades is a Pennsylvania native who played college basketball at Lebanon Valley College at the Division 3 level. His jersey is retired at the college after leading them to a Division 3 championship and still holds records for assists, steals and free throw percentage.
Upon graduation, he became an assistant coach for three years at Randolph-Macon College in Virginia before taking over the head coaching role in 1999. He served as the head coach for 10 years before becoming an assistant coach at VCU under Shaka Smart. He got his first Division 1 head coaching job in 2014 when he took over Rice. He was there for three years before coming back to VCU to be their head coach.
Now it seems like Rhoades will be returning home to Pennsylvania to be the next head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Sources: Penn State has offered its head coaching vacancy to VCU’s Mike Rhoades, with an annual salary in excess of $3 million dollars.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 28, 2023
it’s done. Mike Rhoades to Penn State. Nice guy from central Pennsylvania whose VCU team played fun style, made tournament. Will be starting from scratch in the B1G. Rooting for him.
— Dick Weiss (@HoopsWeiss) March 29, 2023
Rhoades amassed a record of 129-61 with three NCAA Tournament appearances while at VCU.
The immediate question is if Rhoades can continue the momentum of the past season at Penn State. There was been an obvious hit since former coach Micah Shrewsberry left for Notre Dame. There have been three players hit the transfer portal and two commits from the Class of 2023 who requested their NLI release.
Combining that with the graduating seniors who are leaving the program, this seems like more of a rebuild than a team ready to win right away.
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